Mediterranean migrant deaths near 1,000 in 2026, UN says

Nearly 1,000 migrants have died trying to cross the Mediterranean so far in 2026, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday, warning that fatalities are rising sharply even as arrivals decline.

More than 180 people are feared dead or missing in the latest shipwrecks, bringing the total number of deaths this year to at least 990 — one of the deadliest starts to a year since 2014, the agency said in a statement.

In the central Mediterranean alone, the IOM said, around 765 people have died, more than 460 more than during the same period in 2025.

"These tragedies show, once again, that far too many people are still risking their lives on dangerous routes," IOM Director General Amy Pope said.

"Saving lives must come first. But we also need stronger, unified efforts to stop traffickers and smugglers from exploiting vulnerable people and to expand safe and regular pathways so that no one is ever forced into these deadly journeys," she said.

On April 5, a boat carrying about 120 people capsized after departing from Libya, leaving more than 80 missing. Survivors were rescued and brought to Lampedusa.

Between late March and early April, at least four separate shipwrecks were recorded across Mediterranean routes. Incidents off Crete, near Sfax, off southern Italy near Lampedusa, and in the Aegean Sea near Bodrum, Türkiye, left dozens dead and others missing, according to IOM data.

"Despite a sharp drop in arrivals, fatalities are rising," the agency said, adding that Italy has recorded about 6,200 arrivals so far in 2026, down from 9,400 over the same period in 2025.

IOM warned that search and rescue capacity remains insufficient and called for stronger coordination and expanded safe migration pathways.